Sudbury fishing derby celebrates a decade of supporting families with cancer

Close to 200 people bundled up to enjoy the sunshine and fishing on Family Day in Sudbury -- all in support of a good cause.

The 10th annual ‘Fishing for a Cure, in Memory of Noah’ raises money for Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC).

The event was started by Shawn Scott, after he heard about a young boy named Noah Borgogelli, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Scott said he wanted to start the event after seeing the financial burden Noah’s family was going through.

“I have two beautiful children and I saw what they were going through, financial burden and stuff and I couldn’t picture going through that,” he said.

Scott said he was able to present the family with a cheque after the first event.

“It was a great, amazing feeling,” Scott said.

“We continued doing that and organizing the event yearly. Definitely a lot of work but multiple volunteers helping us to get us to this point.”

Tragically, Noah lost his battle with cancer at just five years old. The event is now carried on in his name to honour his memory.

NOFCC provides a variety of programs and services for children diagnosed with cancer and their families.

Jacob Squarzolo is a cancer survivor who was helped by the organization. He was diagnosed with neuroblastoma 20 years ago when he was just nine months old.

Squarzolo said he was diagnosed on Christmas Eve following weeks of testing.

“We had to start our journey on Christmas Day and we went to the Ottawa hospital,” Squarzolo said.

“Right from the get-go, NOFCC has been so awesome to us,” he said.

“Whether it’s helping us out financially with hotels, or food while we’re away.”

Today, Squarzolo is cancer-free and in school. He said NOFCC still supports him.

“Even now they’re still helping with schooling helping with bursaries,” he said.

His father, Mike, now serves on the NOFCC’s board of directors as a way to give back and show his gratitude to the organization.

“Us being a young family, of course, you have financial challenges, and other things that go along with having a child with cancer,” he said.

“So that means, parents taking time off work, so there were many support programs that NOFCC offered to support us at the time.”

He said that every dollar helps the non-profit organization, so events like Fishing for a Cure are huge.

“This event is in memory of Noah. He was a friend of mine, I would consider,” Squarzolo said.

“He was special to me personally and the organization and it’s a great way to honour him.”

Organizers said that it’s the support of volunteers and the community that are the backbone of this event and they hope it will continue to grow.